BILL NUMBER: SJR 21	CHAPTERED  09/21/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   136
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 21, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 30, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Burton, Chesbro, and Escutia
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Gallegos)

                        AUGUST 23, 1999

   Senate Joint Resolution No. 21--Relative to neurodevelopmental
disorders.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 21, Burton.  Neurodevelopmental disorders.
   This measure would memorialize the President and the Congress of
the United States to provide substantial additional funding to the
National Institutes of Health to study neurodevelopmental disorders
in order to advance research and best practices in the assessment,
intervention, and prevention of those disorders.




   WHEREAS, Neurodevelopmental disorders encompass a range of
conditions affecting the brain, including, but not limited to, autism
and related disorders, specific learning disabilities, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, and cerebral
palsy; and
   WHEREAS, Neurodevelopmental disorders are estimated to affect more
than 20 percent of children and adults in California, and the vast
majority of California school children who receive special education
services; and
   WHEREAS, The costs of neurodevelopmental disorders in California
for medical care, special education, support services, and lost wages
for these children and their families are significant and are
estimated to exceed $1 billion a year; and
   WHEREAS, The causes of most neurodevelopmental disorders are
unknown, which limits effective prevention; and
   WHEREAS, Families, educators, and other professionals who treat
individuals with these disorders in California have a tremendous need
for information on research-based assessment, treatment, and support
for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders; and
   WHEREAS, Specific learning disabilities and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder are the most prevalent neurodevelopmental
disorders affecting an estimated 10 to 15 percent of children and
adults and, without effective assessment and intervention, carry
greater risks for academic failure, illiteracy, unemployment,
welfare, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and criminal behavior; and
   WHEREAS, The number of clients with autism served by the
developmental services system increased by 273 percent in the last 10
years and the number of students with autism served in schools
throughout the United States increased by 179 percent in a five-year
period with no signs of leveling off and no explanation yet found for
the dramatic increases; and
   WHEREAS, Research and best practice regarding effective assessment
and intervention services for individuals with neurodevelopmental
disorders is informed by basic and applied research; and
   WHEREAS, California's universities have the demonstrated
capability to respond to the need for research on neurodevelopmental
disorders to guide assessment, treatment, and support; and
   WHEREAS, The University of California has multiple statewide
centers engaged in research and treatment of neurologic disorders,
including one center dedicated to linking basic biomedical research
with clinical neurodevelopmental disorders and engaging cognitive
neuroscience with educational assessments and interventions for these
disorders; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government provides the majority of funding
for university-based research; and
   WHEREAS, The federal National Institutes of Health (NIH), through
its numerous institutes and centers, provides critical funding for
research on neurodevelopmental disorders nationwide; and
   WHEREAS, For the 1999 fiscal year, the Congress provided the NIH
with an increase of nearly 15 percent over the appropriation for the
1998 fiscal year to build on recent medical advances to treat illness
and disability, thereby providing an additional $1.9 billion for NIH
programs including research grant awards; and
   WHEREAS, Neurobiology, which builds on new understanding of brain
biology resulting from new methods to study the nervous system, has
been identified as one of NIH's areas of research emphasis; and
   WHEREAS, The President proposes a $320 million increase and
Congress proposes a $600 million increase to the NIH in the 2000
fiscal year, which would provide 2-percent and 4-percent increases,
respectively, above the 1999 fiscal year NIH budget to continue
biomedical research, including research on brain disorders and
disease prevention; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to
provide substantial additional funding to the National Institutes of
Health to study the neurobiology of autism and related disorders,
specific learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and other
neurodevelopmental disorders, so that California and other states can
advance research and best practices regarding assessment,
intervention, and prevention of these disorders; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to the Chair of the
House Committee on Appropriations, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
United States Secretary of Education.
